Which Billy Joel album opens with the song Allentown?

The Billy Joel album that opens with “Allentown” is The Nylon Curtain.

Released in 1982, The Nylon Curtain begins with “Allentown,” a song about the economic decline of Pennsylvania’s steel-producing communities. Although the title names Allentown, the song focuses substantially on nearby Bethlehem, where the steel industry had become central to local identity and employment. Joel wrote the melody years before finishing the lyrics.

The album was designed with a serious, densely produced sound that drew comparisons to the Beatles, while its subjects included industrial decline, Vietnam veterans, family pressure, and strained relationships. “Allentown” sets that tone immediately, pairing a memorable pop-rock arrangement with lyrics about unemployment, fading expectations, and inherited economic hardship.

A common mix-up is confusing the opening track with the album’s closing song, “Where’s the Orchestra?” That finale reprises the melody of “Allentown,” giving the record a circular structure. The Nylon Curtain followed 1980’s Glass Houses and preceded 1983’s An Innocent Man.